Hey Friends,

It recently occurred to me that I have never shared the complete story of how Adam and I met!  We frequently get asked about how we met each other and we have our quick “canned response” that we share with most people. However, there is so much more to our story than what we normally share.

Now that we’ve been married for over a year (how is that possible?!) it’s about time I share our story here on this blog. Someday Adam and I would love to write a book about our courtship and subsequent love story but until then here is the story of how we met – in blog post form!

Our Story: How We Met

God was definitely preparing us for each other long before we ever met… but our lives slowly began to intertwine in March of 2015. So, that’s where I will begin as well.

March 2015

I was only eighteen – single, lacking guidance, and still getting over a relationship with a young man that was not right for me. I had believed that my life was going in one direction, only to have my path completely re-routed.

While in many ways this was one of the lowest points in my life to date, it was also one of the greatest times. This is when God really began to get a hold of my heart. I experienced the deepest sense of peace and joy that I had ever known. I didn’t know what the future held but I knew I wanted to make the most of it.

Many significant things happened in March that year. I can’t remember exactly when everything took place, but here’s what happened.

In the beginning of March, our church hosted it’s annual rollerskating activity. This was always my favorite activity of the year! Our church always invited other churches to join us, so on that particular night there were some new faces –  two parents, a teenage son, and a young girl. I don’t really remember much about them… but in all reality I had just seen my future in-laws!

In late March, I attended a ladies conference with Debbie Herbster as the key note speaker. I remember sitting in my pew, listening to Mrs. Herbster talk about the joys and trials of their ministry life and I thought “Wow, I would really like to be in the ministry some day.” When I went home later that day I told my mom that I would like to marry a man in full-time ministry. She gently reminded me that more often than not, young women meet men like that at Bible college. 🙂 I had no interest in Bible college so that conversation was soon forgotten – until much, much later. 😉

Sometime after that, our Pastor announced that our church would be having a summer intern coming from Ambassador Baptist College. This was a first, as our church had never had an intern before. My interest was piqued but I tried not to get my hopes up about anything happening… but I was still very curious to meet this intern.

May – July 2015

May 31st was Adam’s very first Sunday at our church. That Sunday, I was teaching a class and working in the nursery so I didn’t even see the “new guy” until after the morning services. My parents were heading up a college and career activity that Sunday afternoon and Adam was supposed to join us. When it was time for all of us to eat lunch everyone went around the room and introduced themselves to the intern.

Adam tells me now that this is when he first noticed me. As everyone was going around introducing themselves, he was trying to think of one thing about each person to help him remember their name. He says he remembered me as the girl with the big smile and blue eyes. I noticed his dark hair, blue eyes, and winsome smile. I also loved the way he immediately fit right into our group, laughing, talking, and having fun as if he had always known us. It was a fun Sunday as our whole group got to know Adam, who would be with us for the next two months.

From that day on, I felt conflicted and confused. I really did NOT want to like Adam but I was curious about him too.  For all I knew he could already have a girlfriend back home or at college. At first I tried to avoid him… but our paths kept crossing!

Because my dad was (and still is) the assistant pastor at the church, Adam was often working alongside my dad. One Saturday after a church workday my Dad mentioned Adam’s name, teasingly suggesting that he would be a good match for me. I flat out told him that I wasn’t interested.

One evening, during the internship my dad invited Adam over for dinner – on a night I just happened to be cooking! That turned out to be the first of several meals Adam ate with our family (I’m so glad my cooking didn’t scare him away!). Each time he came to our home, I got to know him just a little bit more, and I liked what I saw.

One Sunday afternoon when Adam was eating lunch at out home, he was telling us stories of his family. I loved how important his family was to him. He told us he had always wanted a little sister so for years he prayed for God to give him a little sister. When he was ten, God answered that prayer and Ashley was born. I remember him describing the special relationship he had with his little sister, and my heart just melted a little bit – it was one of the sweetest things I had ever heard. I couldn’t help but think that if he could love his little sister so much, how much more would he love and adore his future wife?

Throughout that summer, Adam and I ended up going to the same Church camp for a week – he went as a counselor and I got put on the maintenance crew (we were called prison rats because it was a prison camp theme!). Adam also ended up helping me out in the Vacation Bible School class I taught that summer. Throughout all these different events, we had small pockets of time to chat and get to know each other. All summer long, I thought Adam was watching me… so in turn I was always watching him too.

I was beginning to think Adam could do just about anything. He had a great singing voice, he could play the piano, and he was great at public speaking – he was confident but not at all cocky. I noticed the way he interacted with people – from children to elderly couples. He was incredibly ministry-minded but he still knew how to have fun. I could tell he came from a good, solid, Christian family and was raised with a lot of the same biblical values and standards that I was taught as well. He was hardworking, incredibly smart, and from our conversations I could tell he was wise with money too. He even liked to read! I mean, seriously, a man who likes to read? What a rare find indeed! 😉

Before I knew it, Adam’s internship was coming to a close. He never expressed that he liked me nor did he mention a thing to my dad… so I really didn’t know if he was interested in me or not. The only thing I did knew for sure was that he was watching me an awful lot.

As much as I tried not to, I liked Adam, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up, nor did I know if he would ever be the right one for me.

The very last Sunday of Adam’s internship, our church held a fellowship to wish him goodbye. That night, before he left, Adam came over to say goodbye to my family. I remember him saying goodbye and saying “I’ll be back” while looking right at me as he said it. I couldn’t help but wander what he was trying to communicate with that comment. After that, we said goodbye and left for home. I honestly doubted I would ever see much of Adam again… and for the next few weeks I tried hard to forget about him and move on  with my life.

What I didn’t know was that Adam had NOT forgotten about me!

(Our Story To Be Continued Next Week…)